The
Grand Jury investigated how forensic evidence is handled by San Mateo
County law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney's Office, and in
particular the San Mateo County Forensic Laboratory (Crime Lab).

The San Mateo County
Forensic Laboratory advised the Grand Jury that it is 50% understaffed
and operates under severe budget restraints. Some Crime Lab management
have been spending 60% of their time doing casework in addition to supervisory
responsibilities in an attempt to reduce the backlog of work. The Crime
Lab's management deficiencies, which are similar to the situation of the
Houston Crime Lab that resulted in the closure of its DNA laboratory,
is a concern and an outcome the Grand Jury does not want repeated in San
Mateo County.

The complexity of
the issues dictates the report be structured in three major sections with
three appendices:

Comparison of
the San Mateo County Forensic Laboratory with ASCLD/LAB Accreditation
Criteria

Appendix B:

List of All Grand
Jury Recommendations
(Excluding the criteria for accreditation listed in Appendix A)

Appendix C:

Glossary of Terms

The following is an
overview of each section of the report with a summarization of Grand Jury
recommendations.

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Issue: Are
effective processes, procedures, and standards in place and followed by
the San Mateo County Forensic Laboratory to ensure proper handling of
evidence, and to provide unbiased scientific analysis for crime investigations
by law enforcement agencies and for prosecution of criminals by the District
Attorney's Office?

The
Grand Jury investigated how forensic evidence is handled by San Mateo
County law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney's Office, and in
particular the operations of the San Mateo County Forensic Laboratory
(Crime Lab).

The Crime Lab is part
of the Support Services Division of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
It provides forensic services with county funds to the county's law enforcement
agencies, the Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office, the Probation
Department, and sometimes to the California Highway Patrol, local fire
departments, California Department of Forestry, Animal Control Services,
SamTrans, and Amtrak. The Crime Lab may perform forensic testing on any
case that occurs in San Mateo County, be it a local, state, or federal
crime.

The San Mateo County
Forensic Laboratory Director is a civilian who oversees a staff of 25
people and reports to a Captain. The staff is comprised of 14 scientists,
7 forensic specialists, a property officer and 3 staff support.

The Crime Lab has
existed many years in a building that is in violation of Health and Safety
Codes, has respiratory disease causing mold spores, lacks adequate ventilation,
has insufficient emergency showers and eyewashes, electricity that is
not grounded, and is basically unsafe for continued use. In spite of budget
limitations and the failure of the voters to pass a bond measure, a new
state of the art crime lab building has been constructed and provides
a more efficient work environment for the laboratory staff. The costs
to build this facility are covered by a Local Forensic Laboratory Improvement
Program grant from the Office of Criminal Justice Planning, a 30-year
loan, and general funds from the Sheriff's budget. The Crime Lab began
its move into the new building in March 2003. The building has won awards
and the Sheriff is to be commended for his successful efforts to complete
this construction.

Interviews were conducted
with several judges, attorneys in the District Attorney's Office, defense
attorneys, members of the Private Defender Program, and police chiefs
and law enforcement officers. Tours and interviews with management and
personnel of the San Mateo County Forensic
Laboratory (both the old and the new facility) and the Santa Clara County
Crime Lab were conducted.

A survey was sent
to all San Mateo County police chiefs and the Sheriff's investigation
units to obtain data regarding the number of major crimes (homicide and
rape cases) that occurred in their jurisdictions annually from 1997 through
2002. They also provided information regarding crime scene investigations,
field evidence technicians, guidelines for evidence collection, packaging
and storage, and their interactions with the Crime Lab.

The Grand Jury obtained
draft copies of Crime Lab manuals (policies and procedures, administrative
and technical guidelines), equipment inventory and calibration logs, personnel
training and proficiency records, the FY 2001-03 Budget Worksheet, grant
applications, Strategic Plan, accreditation self-audit results, and volumes
of tests performed in the lab in the last five years. The Grand Jury also
reviewed some laboratory major crime case files, toxicology and blood
alcohol case files, including evidence chain of custody logs.

The Grand Jury reviewed
the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation
Board (ASCLD/LAB) Manual; researched articles and materials regarding
the handling of forensic evidence from the Governor's Office of Criminal
Justice Planning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State
Forensic Science Commission, the California Department of Justice, the
American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and the Institute of Forensic Sciences;
reviewed the County of Santa Clara Grand Jury 1988-1989 Final Report which
reported findings from an investigation of the Santa Clara County Crime
Lab; reviewed forensic science texts; reviewed the findings of the standardized
quality assurance audit of the Houston Police Department Crime Lab; reviewed
documentation regarding the handling of forensic evidence from the Coroner's
Office and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

To download the complete
report which contains all of the findings, conclusions and recommendations,
please click on the link below:

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